Academy Leadership Excellence Framework
Domains
The five domains of educational leadership
Excellent leaders in Victorian schools apply five key domains of practice to foster excellence and equity for every student as shown in the ALEF model.
These domains are directly linked to the AITSL Principal Professional Practices, offering a clear framework for developing leadership capabilities and improving school performance.
1. Leading teaching, learning and wellbeing
This domain is about recognising the direct link between excellent teaching and improved student learning and wellbeing. It emphasises that achieving excellence requires a collaborative approach where leaders and teachers work together across all three areas: teaching, learning, and wellbeing.
Key focus:
- Improving student outcomes: Leaders understand that high-quality teaching is the cornerstone of student success.
- Collaborative practice: Fostering a culture where teachers and leaders partner to enhance instructional methods and support student welfare.
2. Developing self, others, and teams
This domain focuses on deepening your own leadership practices while simultaneously nurturing the leadership potential of others. It promotes building a collaborative capacity that enables distributed leadership, where leadership responsibilities are shared throughout the school community.
Key focus:
- Leadership development: Cultivating personal leadership skills and mentoring others.
- Distributed leadership: Empowering staff members by sharing leadership responsibilities and building collective capacity.
3. Leading improvement, innovation and change
This domain focuses on the strategic implementation of school development. It involves working with stakeholders to create and execute clear, evidence-based improvement plans and policies. Leaders in this domain guide innovation and change to ensure the school's vision and strategic goals are met.
Key focus:
- Strategic planning: Using data and evidence to develop effective improvement policies.
- Change management: Successfully leading the school through periods of innovation and change to achieve long-term goals.
4. Leading the management of the school
This domain is about creating an optimal environment for teaching and learning. It involves strategically managing all school resources - time, finances, materials, and personnel - to align with school and team goals. The ultimate aim is to create a physical and social environment where teachers can teach effectively, and students can thrive.
Key focus:
- Resource management: Efficiently allocating resources to support school objectives.
- Creating a positive environment: Ensuring the physical and social setting is conducive to high-quality teaching and learning.
5. Engaging and working with the community
This domain emphasises the importance of a strong school-community partnership. It involves leveraging the cultural and educational resources of families and the wider community. This collaboration enables teachers, parents, and caregivers to work together in the best interest of the child, enhancing student outcomes.
Key focus:
- Community engagement: Building strong, reciprocal relationships with families and the community.
- Student-centric collaboration: Partnering with parents and caregivers to support student learning and wellbeing.
Learn more about educational leadership
These five domains link closely to The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) principal professional practices. You can find more out about building leadership through the domains by visiting the AITSL page, 'Resources to build leadership in Australian schools'
Resources and next steps
- Access downloadable resources on each of the three capabilities
- ALEF Home: Explore the full Academy Leadership Excellence Framework, including sections on Capabilities and Dispositions
